The End of Detention, At Least in Middle School
by MWolfL
Summary: Finally, the cast of Detention is graduating! Unhappily, Miss Kisskillya has set up a girls-ask-guys-dance! Luckily, Shareena comes up with a plan to save Emmit from Shelley, but it causes something neither of them expected. EmmitXShareena
1. Miss Kisskillya's Final Stratagem

A.N. I found two _Detention_ fanfictions, but one was only a one shot and the other was unfinished - and then removed much to my disappointment - so I decided to write a longer and completed story. Also, I wanted to capture Miss Kisskillya's military attitude just like the founders did. I think I captured her pretty well, though it might be slightly exaggerated.

It was now near the end of eighth grade at the Benedict Arnold Middle School, which also meant graduation. Everyone couldn't wait for graduation, except for Shelly Kelley - but then that was Shelly for ya, she was the only student who liked Miss Kisskillya much less got along with her. As for the old gang - Orangejella and Lemonjella LaBelle, Gug Gugleamo, Duncan Bubble, Jim Kim, Emmitt Roswell, and Shareena Wickett - they couldn't be happier. Often they would hang out during recess, lunch, and after school and discuss how much better their lives were going to get, especially now that they won't have to put up with Miss Kisskillya anymore. That one detail often prevented Shelley from joining them like she used too, which just made the gang happier since they could never stand her. They were so happy that they were actually looking forward to high school, which is a huge rarity due to school progressively getting harder as you move up the grade. However none of them had ever heard any stories about the high school they were transferring to that sounded worse than anything Miss Kisskillya had done before. And speaking of bad things that Miss Kisskillya had done, the last stunt she was going to pull was going to top it all...except for eventually two particular students.

It was about two weeks, a Thursday, before graduation, and the gang was in detention. You know, same ol', same ol'. Miss Kisskillya's final speech before dismissal ended up not being 'same ol', same ol' though.

"Now students, two days before graduation there will be a formal dance you will have to go to." Miss Kisskillya said, again sounding like a military sergeant addressing the troops - but then again she **was** a military sergeant before transferring to B.A.M.S. so...

"And when I say 'have to' I mean 'non-optional'." Miss Kisskillya continued. "Anyone who deserts this dance will receive an F in Electives."

The gang just shrugged this off at first, after all Miss Kisskillya often put on dances so that she could practice keeping a larger crowd than usual under control. But then Miss Kisskillya mentioned the next detail about the dance, which ended up as a huge shock for everyone but Shelley.

"And another thing: this dance is coed, meaning students will have to pair off in groups of one boy and one girl." Miss Kisskillya kept hitting her riding crop in her hand behind her back as she continued. "Anyone trying to cheat their way out of this will also receive an F in Electives."

The students switched from bored to aghast, horrified that Miss Kisskillya had just beat her record for most cruelty in a detention period.

"This is to prepare you for the hormone wars that you will have to face in high school." Miss Kisskillya now really sounded like a sergeant. "This is no Battleship or video game soldiers, high school is the real deal, the real deal of the battles of peer pressure. High school is not for Home Front wimps, it is for tough soldiers who would never cry at being turned down by someone they like."

A.N. I know that those who had to stay on the Home Front during past wars were not wimps, but try telling Miss Kisskillya that. Sometimes soldiers are so caught up in the marching, training, and battles that they forget that there are hardships to be survived back home too. At least that's what an old Looney Tune cartoon hinted (_Private SNAFU - The Home Front_, in case you want to see it).

"Oh, and before you go this dance will be a girls-ask-boys dance." Miss Kisskillya added just as the detention period ended.

Emmitt immediately paled and looked terrified, just as Shelley smiled happily and glanced flirtingly at Emmitt.

"DEETENTIIOON DIIISSS-MISSED!"

The gang immediately left, but no one left faster than Emmitt. Heck, he didn't even bother to put on his backpack, he just grabbed it and ran.

A.N. The gang had to get backpacks for eight grade since the homework pile got bigger.

"Wow, Emmitt ran just like The Flash." Jim said, impressed, as he and the remainder of the gang walked down the hall.

"Considering Shelley is obviously going to ask him to that dance I don't blame him for leaving like that." Gug frowned. "I don't know why Miss Kisskillya set up that stupid dance anyway, it's not like I'm ever going to be interested in girls."

"Just as well, no girl would ever be interested in you." Orangejella smirked.

"Like I care."

"Well you should care about your grade," Lemonjella pointed out. "You're cutting it close as it is."

"That's true...darn it." Gug muttered, remembering that he had just barely managed to scrape up enough good grades in order to graduate; one bad grade could ruin everything.

"It's too bad Supergirl is too busy protecting Earth, she could take me." Jim thought out loud.

No one wanted to cause an argument by pointing out that Supergirl doesn't exist, they were all irritated enough already.

"_Poor Emmitt._" Duncan changed the subject, using his yoyo instead of his voice since he's mute.

"Duncan's right, any girl is better than Smelly Kelley." Gug agreed.

"We have to save him." Lemonjella nodded. "He is our friend."

"Maybe one of the superheroes can help us by getting rid of Shelley." Jim suggested.

At this point they left the building and walked outside.

"That won't work, Shelley isn't evil she's just brainwashed." Shareena shook her head, speaking for the first time since school ended. "A better idea would be to get a different girl to take Emmitt, if nothing else it would at least get Shelley off his back until after the dance."

"Unorthodox, yet genius." Orangejella commented. "Though I'm surprised that you're suggesting Emmitt going to the dance at all."

"Well, Miss Kisskillya did say that it is non-optional." Shareena pointed out. "Besides I know Emmitt, he's too polite to turn down an invitation without a non-insulting reason."

"Meaning that if Shelley asks him, he'll have no choice but to say yes unless he can think of an alibi." Jim realized. "No wonder he left the school so fast."

"_So who?_" Duncan asked.

"Yea, who else would take Emmitt to the dance?" Gug agreed. "It's not like he's popular or anything."

"I was thinking of taking him." Shareena admitted.

"WHAT?" The rest of the gang stopped, their eyes bugged out.

"Well mom is sure to hear about the dance and force me to go, even though I don't need to worry about that F." Shareena explained, also stopping. "And he's the only guy I can tolerate going to a dance with."

"That is true, you two due have some similarities." Orangejella noted.

"Like the fact that you both love supernatural beings, just different kinds." Lemonjella noted.

"Yup, I've got Earth covered and he's got outer space covered." Shareena nodded. "Well, I'd better go find him before Shelley does."


	2. Shareeena's Dodge

The gang said their goodbyes and separated. Now, Shareena refrained from looking for Emmitt in his clubhouse since that would be too obvious, so she decided to go to the park. One section of the park featured a thick assortment of trees, which prevented sunlight from reaching most of the ground. The kids called that area The Woods, and most of them found that area too spooky, but Shareena loved it. She walked through The Woods whenever she needed to clear her head so she decided to go to that area to think of where to look first. It turns out, that was where she found Emmitt, who looked as if he was still trying to calm down.

"Hi Emmit." Shareena smiled.

Emmitt jumped up with a scream, startling Shareena slightly.

"Oh...Shareena...its you..." Emmitt tried to catch his breath. "I thought you were Shelley."

"Okay, if you weren't so stressed out I'd punch you for that insult." Shareena frowned.

"Sorry, sorry, I've just been overworking my brain trying to come up with an idea for keeping Shelley from asking me to the dance." Emmitt sat back down, looking miserable. "But I can't think of anything."

Shareena's expression softened, and she actually looked sympathetic.

"Don't worry Emmitt." Shareena smiled comfortingly, sitting down next to him. "I already thought of an idea."

"You have?" Emmitt brightened.

"Yes, you see the only way to get Shelley off your back about the dance is to have someone else take you."

"Oh." Emmitt looked disappointed. "That's a brilliant idea, except who would take me?"

"I've decided to take you."

"What?" Emmitt stared at her.

"Well, I can't stand to see you go with Shelley." Shareena explained. "Plus you're the only boy I can tolerate going to a dance with. The final say-so of my plan is up to you though."

Emmitt thought for a minute, and then smiled.

"Well, any girl is better than Shelley, especially you." Emmitt agreed. "You're the only girl I can tolerate going to a dance with."

"Great, this will get Shelley off your back, at least until graduation, and now you can rest." Shareena smiled.

They both got up and decided to walk home together.

"So what were you doing in The Woods anyway?" Emmitt asked. "I thought most kids were scared of that place."

"Not me, I've always loved it in there." Shareena replied. "The solitude and darkness helps me think, and I like pretending to be a creature of the night when I'm in there. What about you?"

"I go in there to think too, for the same reasons." Emmitt smiled, amazed that someone else shared his point of view on The Woods. "I also like imagining meeting aliens in there. Someday, I hope to meet a real alien."

"Well, I just hope it turns out to be friendly."

"Some are, some aren't-wait, you really think I might meet one?"

"I never said anything before, but I've always been open minded about that subject." Shareena admitted. "After all satellites and rockets aren't powerful enough to find out for real right now, but sometime in the future we might find proof."

It was like Emmitt was seeing Shareena in a new light. Truthfully, even though they were friends they had never really bonded before. The only reason that the gang in general were friends was because they didn't have anyone else. They were misfits, and misfits have to stick together.

By the time they reached Emmitt's house, Emmitt remembered something:

"Uh-oh, I don't have a tuxedo."

"No problem, why don't you come to the mall with me this Saturday." Shareena suggested. "I have to go get my dress anyway so we can find the right outfits together."

"Okay." Emmitt smiled. "So, what kind of dress are you going to get?"

"Black and lavender probably." Shareena decided. "There's this great Goth store at the mall that will have some good ones, I get my clothes there all the time."

"Oh, uh..." Emmitt paused awkwardly.

"Don't worry, they have all types of Goth clothing in there, even appropriate formal clothing." Shareena smiled. "Trust me, I think you'll love it."

"Okay then." Emmitt agreed. "How about we meet at the food court for lunch at one and then shop for clothes at two?"

"Sounds good, I just have to figure out what to do with the dress mom is obviously going to make for me."

"Ew, yeah, pink does not look good on you." Emmitt winced. "Well, except for that heart on your shirt."

"Thanks, the heart symbolizes my being a good person despite loving the supernatural." Shareena smiled.

"Obviously." Emmitt nodded. "Say, want to hang out tomorrow after school? It's Friday the Thirteenth, so we can watch horror and sci-fi movies."

"Sure." Shareena agreed. "Your place or mine?"

"I'm thinking mine. My bedroom is sci-fi themed, which will compliment the films, and has a TV." Emmitt suggested. "Plus, my parents are supportive about my liking the supernatural so we won't have to worry about any complaints."

"True, my mom would complain constantly...aw man you have a TV in your bedroom, no fair." Shareena frowned with jealousy.

"Yeah, it was a Christmas present last year." Emmitt explained. "My parents bought it for me so that I could watch my movies even when my parents are watching the news. The only rule is that I have to turn it off at eight on school nights. So, what movies are you going to bring?"

"Some of my favorites, _Dracula_, _The Wolfman_, and _Frankenstein_ to name a few. I'll also bring some comedies like _Young Frankenstein_ - Igor is hilarious - and _Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein_."

"Cool, I love Abbot and Costello." Emmitt grinned. "I have _Star Wars, 2001: A Space Odyssey_, _Abbot and Costello Go To Mars_, and a few others."

"Cool. See you at school tomorrow." Shareena waved as she left.

"Bye." Emmitt waved back.

After dinner, Emmitt received a phone call from Shelley.

"Hi Emmitt, I was thinking that we can go to the dance together." Shelley said cheerfully.

"Sorry Shelley, but I already promised Shareena." Emmitt said, his expression proving that he was obviously not sorry at all.

"Oh...okay, maybe...some other time then." Shelley said, trying to remain cheerful.

"Maybe." Emmitt reluctantly said, really wanting to say something like "I'd rather have my brain eaten by an alien" but being too polite to.

The next day, Shareena had to head home after school to get her movies - since she didn't want to make her backpack heavier - so Emmitt passed the time by getting his room ready. While his mom prepared the snacks he quickly made the bed, and took his stuff off the floor and stuffed it in his closet, except for an unfinished puzzle. That he decided to finish first, and he did just as Shareena arrived.

"Emmitt, you friend is here." His mom said through his door.

"Okay, be right out." Emmitt hurriedly put his puzzle away, stuffed it in his closet, and rushed downstairs.

"Hey Shareena." He smiled as he reached the bottom step.

"Hey, got the movies." Shareena held up her _Ghosts Rule!_ bag that she made for Home Economics last year.

"Cool, go ahead and put them on my bed, I'll get the snacks." Emmitt said, starting to leave for the kitchen. "My bedroom's the one with the _No Aliens or Parents Allowed_ sign on the door."

"Obviously." Shareena grinned to herself as she went up the stairs.

As she entered Emmitt's bedroom she looked around, impressed. Emmitt had quite a collection of sci-fi related items, including a bed with a planet theme and a collection of Star Wars and Star Trek action figures neatly organized on shelves along one wall. Emmitt soon arrived with a tray that had a bowl of popcorn, a six pack of sodas, and a bowl of candy on it.

"You have a cool room Emmitt." Shareena said as she took the popcorn and set it near the TV. "I unfortunately can't display my collection of the supernatural since mom would get rid of it. I have to hide mine in a toy chest."

"That stinks." Emmitt shook his head as he set the tray down and started separating the sodas. "Apart from that what's your room like?"

"Well, my room is the attic and I have the usual items: a bed, vanity, closet, toy chest, two bookcases, and a mirror." Shareena replied as she sorted through the candy. "Ah, here we go candy corn." She grinned as she took a package. "I love candy corn, it always reminds me of Halloween, my favorite holiday."

"Halloween's my favorite holiday too, it's the only time that I can dress up as an alien or some other sci-fi character without the others teasing me." Emmitt grinned as he grabbed a chocolate bar. "Well, except for Comic-Con but I can't afford the travel expense."

"I always wanted to go to the Comic-Con too, but my mom would never let me." Shareena frowned.

"Hey, maybe we can go together after high school." Emmitt suggested.

"That'd be great." Shareena brightened.

Shareena immensely enjoyed her time with the Roswells. Emmitt's parents were cool, at least when compared to hers, the movies were great, and dinner afterward was delicious. She and Emmitt also had a great time talking about their interests, and Shareena saw Emmitt in a new light when he loved the horror films she brought. Emmitt even became a fan of Frankenstein due to relating to him, and he also cracked up at Igor's silliness during _Young Frankenstein_. She even enjoyed talking with Emmitt's parents during dinner, especially since they didn't ask embarrassing questions. They expressed an interest in seances and ghosts, so Shareena suggested that they all try one next Friday the Thirteenth. She had originally given up on seances since the rest of the gang lost interest. Well, Emmitt was still interested, but since you needed a group it wasn't enough. Four however was good enough, so Emmitt and his parents agreed enthusiastically, and even suggested hosting it in their living room. Shareena agreed partly because she believed that it would work better in a house full of believers, which her mom was not. Just before Shareena left, she stopped to thank Emmitt for the marathon and dinner.

"Emmitt, thank you for inviting me over, it was the best afternoon of my life." Shareena smiled. "Dinner was delicious too."

"I had an awesome time too, those horror movies were cool." Emmitt smiled back as he shook her hand. "So, I guess we're best friends now huh?"

"Definitely." Shareena nodded. "So, I'll see you tomorrow at the food court at the mall."

"Okay, where do you want to eat?" Emmitt asked.

"I'm thinking maybe a burger or a taco." Shareena suggested. "I always get hungry for meat for a while after I watch _The Wolfman_."

"Either works for me, so maybe you can get the taco and I'll get the burger and we'll split them." Emmitt offered.

"Sounds good, I'll meet you at the tables." Shareena waved as she started to leave.

"Okay, bye Shareena." Emmitt waved back before shutting the door.


	3. Gothic Central

A.N. Due to Shareena's mom's fashion sense I always wondered where Shareena got her clothing. This chapter will reveal my view on the subject.

Emmitt arrived at the mall first and, starving, went to get the burger. Since he didn't know what Shareena liked on her burgers, he ordered a plain burger with the usual items like tomato and cheese on the side. After finding an empty table he sat down, split the burger in half, and started eating. A few minutes after one Shareena arrived, looking irritated.

"What happened?" Emmitt asked after swallowing the fry he was eating.

"Mom finished the dress early so she made me try it on for a final fitting." Shareena frowned. "Man I'm glad we're getting our outfits now, I could use some time with Goth items."

"Ouch." Emmitt winced as he pushed the tray with the other half of the burger and the rest of the fires towards her. "Have you figured out what to do with that dress?"

"Well, normally I would feed those dresses to my pet pig Pig but this dress has a zipper so I'd better not risk it. Besides, he hated the Disco one so I doubt he would eat this one." Shareena sighed. "I'll be right back, I really need a taco."

"Okay." Emmitt nodded.

While Shareena went to get the taco - extra stuff on the side of course - Emmitt though about her dress problem. By the time she got back, he thought of an idea.

"Hey Shareena, maybe you can secretly alter your mom's dress so that it will cover your dress, and then you can just slip it off and put it in a trash can on the way to the dance." Emmitt suggested as he took his half of the taco and started piling on the toppings.

"That'll work, luckily my parents get tired easily so they'll be asleep when I come home." Shareena nodded as she prepared her burger.

They talked a little longer as they ate, and then once they were done they cleared the table and headed for the store.

When they reached the entrance Emmitt dropped his mouth open in amazement. The store, called Gothic Central, was larger than he expected, and along with having Halloween creatures also had sci-fi creatures decorating the walls and displays.

"Wow, this is cool!" Emmitt smiled excitedly.

"Told you you'd love it." Shareena smiled back in amusement.

"I've got to explore this mall better, usually I just head for the book store to grab the latest sci-fi book or comic." Emmitt admitted.

"Well, after we get our outfits how about we explore the mall together?" Shareena suggested.

"Sure." Emmitt grinned.

They went in and were suddenly greeted by a vampire who seemed to appear out of nowhere. Actually it was one of the salesclerks who had quickly moved from behind a display of Goth purses and bags, but it did startle Emmitt.

"Shareena my lovely, velcome." The vampire salesclerk said in a Transylvanian accent, bowing and spreading his cape.

"Hey Vic, still 'flying around' huh?" Shareena grinned.

"But of course, vhat else vould a vampire be doing?" Vic grinned, showing off his fake fangs.

Emmitt relaxed, obviously Vic was an old friend of Shareena's. Looking around, Emmitt realized that the vampire costume was actually the store's uniform. All the other salesclerks were also dressed up as monsters or other supernatural creatures, and a few, to his happiness, were even dressed up as aliens. Apparently, the store had a 'pretend to be a supernatural creature' theme to it.

"Shareena I vant to sell you an outfit, vhat vould you like?" Vic asked.

"A dress and a tuxedo, our school is putting on a pre-graduation dance." Shareena explained.

"Ah, you two are going together?" Vic noted.

"Yeah, Shareena's saving me from having to go with one of those over-perky Ladybug Scouts." Emmitt explained.

"*Blah!* I never liked them, ladybugs always leave a bad taste in the mouth." Vic winced.

Shareena and Emmitt laughed.

"My name is Emmitt, I'm Shareena's best friend." Emmitt said after he recovered from laughing.

"A pleasure, Shareena does have good taste." Vic bowed slightly.

"Speaking of which careful, I think that taco we had earlier had garlic in the beef." Emmitt winked.

Vic chuckled and Shareena giggled.

"Don't vorry, I gave up on human blood a long time ago." Vic winked back before turning to Shareena. "Shareena, come with me, I vill find you a dress fit for a vampire queen. You can get your tuxedo from Allen, Emmitt." Vic added, pointing to one of the aliens.

"Okay, thanks." Emmitt smiled. "See you later outside the store Shareena."

"Okay." Shareena nodded as she followed Vic.

Emmitt went over to Allen.

"Hello young earthling, what would you like." Allen asked.

"A tuxedo fit for an alien fan, my good extraterrestrial." Emmitt grinned.

"Ah, always a pleasure to help an earthling with good taste." Allen smiled.

As Allen helped Emmitt with his tuxedo, Shareena had a tricky time finding the right dress.

"How about this vone?" Vic suggested, holding up an attractive black sleeveless number with a bat made out of gold sequins in the middle. "You vill look stunning in this vone."

"Thanks, but it's a little too fancy." Shareena shook her head. "I think I'll save that one for my high school's prom...**if** I go."

Shareena continued looking, and found a dress with a black sleeveless top and a lavender skirt. The cool thing was, the skirt had tiny black skulls decorating it. Deciding on that one, Shareena left to try it on. At that moment Emmitt finished trying on his tuxedo. It was a simple tuxedo with a red tie, except the tie had tiny green alien heads decorating it. After paying for it, Emmitt started to go outside the store, but Vic stopped him.

"Ah Emmitt, I vas vondering if you vanted to talk vhile ve vait." Vic smiled.

"Sure." Emmitt smiled.

Vic and Emmitt talked about how they became friends of Shareena, and soon became friends themselves.

"Ve're both lucky to have Shareena for a friend." Vic said.

"Yeah, most others consider her weird, but she's really a kind, generous, and fun person." Emmitt smiled.

Vic smiled too, but for a different reason.

"She's lucky to know you, you both seemed to have a lot in common." Vic noticed.

"Yeah, we're both good people who are misunderstood by most of the world." Emmitt nodded, obviously looking unhappy about that. "It's great that I'm friends with Shareena now, I don't know what I'd do without her. Especially in the case of keeping that Ladybug Scout off my back."

"You two are going to stay friends through high school, I'm guessing?" Vic smiled as if knowing something.

"More like forever." Emmitt chuckled.

"Yes vell, be careful during high school." Vic kneeled down so that he was closer to Emmitt's height. "Shareena is growing into a beautiful young lady and soon will be bevitching all the boys and stealing their hearts. Try to stay in control."

"Hey, don't worry, Shareena can date whoever she wants." Emmitt shrugged. "As long as they allow her to stay friends with me anyway."

"Of course, of course." Vic smirked as he straightened up; obviously Emmitt didn't get what he was really saying.

"Hey guys." Shareena smiled as she approached them. "Sorry I took so long Emmitt, there was a line."

"It's okay, Vic and I had a nice chat." Emmitt grinned.

"That ve did." Vic grinned back.

They said goodbye to Vic, and then Shareena and Emmitt started walking around the mall. They talked about the store and Vic, and Emmitt told Shareena about Allen. They then talked about what stores to visit. The last store they visited was the bookstore, where Emmitt studied the comics trying to decide which one to get. Shareena meanwhile absorbed herself into the books on supernatural. She found one on voodoo and studied it, hoping she could find something good to use on Miss Kisskillya or Shelley. She couldn't find one for Miss Kisskillya, since none of the voodoo spells seemed strong enough, but she did find a few for Shelley. Wanting to try at least one of them, and loving the book, she decided to buy it.

"What you got there?" Emmitt asked as they stood in the checkout.

"Voodoo for Beginners, I want to try one on Shelley." Shareena grinned.

"Cool, count me in." Emmitt grinned back.

"What about you?" Shareena asked.

"I go the latest issue of Invaders." Emmitt held up the comic. "This one is cool, evil aliens invade earth and with humans defenseless Dracula and the other creatures of the night decide to defend the planet."

"Whoa, cool!" Shareena smiled excitedly. "Can I read it when you're done?"

"Better yet, how about we read it together during lunch on Monday? I promise not to read it until then." Emmitt said, holding up his right hand and placing his left - with the comic - on his heart.

"Sounds great, I'm looking forward to it." Shareena smiled as they reached the counter.

After paying for their books Emmitt and Shareena left the store and walked into an unpleasant surprise.

"Shareena, Emmitt, hi!" Shelley smiled. "Where are you going?"

"Home." Shareena said. "We're already done shopping."

"Oh." Shelley's face fell. "That's too bad I'm still shopping. I have to find a craft book that will help me perk up my dress for the dance."

"'Dress'? But you always wear your uniform." Emmitt frowned, confused.

"Yes but I want to look extra pretty for this dance." Shelley smiled.

"Oh, well, got to go." Shareena said quickly, gently grabbing Emmitt by the arm and leading him away.

"Thanks, I almost got a bad vision of her dress." Emmitt chuckled quietly.

"Yeah. 'Perk up my dress', why would she need to do that she's already too perky." Shareena agreed quietly.

"Tell me about it." Emmitt sniggered.

Meanwhile, Shelley was watching Shareena and Emmitt walk away, but fortunately couldn't understand what they were saying.

"Take my boyfriend away huh?" Shelley frowned, no longer perky. "Well two can play at this game. I'll put together a dress so outstanding that not only will I get my Fashion Merit Badge but Emmitt back as well."


	4. A PreProm

A.N. Obviously this is a ShareenaXEmmitt story. Here's where it begins.

As the days passed Shareena and Emmitt had a great time hanging out, much to Shelley's annoyance. Luckily the last three days of school, including graduation, were non-class days so Shareena and Emmitt had extra time to hang out.

A few hours before the dance, which was at night, Shareena's mom helped her put on her dress. Luckily, Shareena had mastered the art of 'back zipper zipping and unzipping', so she was able to quickly take it off, put on her real dress, and put the fake one on top without her parents noticing anything. That part was easy, it was putting up with her parents that was hard. They kept talking about dating and everything similar, which was almost worse than when they were using disco lingo back before the disco dance a couple years ago. At least this time there wasn't anyone else around except for Pig. Luckily, Emmitt was picking her up, so she didn't have to endure another irritating ride to school. When it was time to leave, Shareena tolerated a few pictures from her dad.

"How about a shot of you with your date?" Her dad suggested.

"**Friend**, dad, and no he's camera shy." Shareena shook her head.

Though her parents were disappointed, they understood, so Shareena went outside to wait for Emmitt. Actually Emmitt wasn't camera shy, that was just an excuse so that he wouldn't have to meet her parents. Luckily, this time Pig understood that Shareena wouldn't have time to keep him hidden at the school, so he didn't insist on going.

As she waited she quickly ripped off the fake dress and stuffed it into a nearby recycling can. She didn't want to poison the earth, especially not with her mother's fashion sense. Emmitt arrived just as she shut the lid.

"Ah good, I don't have to see the bad dress." Emmitt grinned.

"Lucky you, it was gross." Shareena winced as she walked towards him. "Luckily I prefer blue cotton candy instead of pink, otherwise the dress would've put me off it."

"*Yeck!*" Emmitt winced.

At that moment, Shareena walked under a streetlamp, and Emmit's wince turned to awe. Shareena, to him, looked so beautiful in her good dress that he couldn't believe it. Along with the dress Shareena wore her usual shoes and a lavender hairband with a black cat on it.

"What is it?" Shareena, frowned, confused.

"Nothing, you just look bewitching." Emmitt smiled with a wink.

"You look 'out of this world' yourself." Shareena chuckled with a wink of her own.

Emmitt chuckled back, and they walked towards the school. Luckily, Miss Kisskillya mistook the tiny skulls and alien heads on their clothing for dots so they were allowed in without any trouble. They entered the gym, and spotted most of the rest of the gang by the chairs. Orangejella and Lemonjella decided to go with Gug and Duncan so they wouldn't have to worry about not being invited and getting the F. The girl Jim danced with at the disco dance a couple years back took him, and they were dancing already. Shareena and Emmitt waved to those by the chair, and joined them.

"Wow, Shareena great outfit." Orangejella and Lemonjella said.

"Thanks, I like both of yours too." Shareena smiled.

They talked for a bit, and then decided to get some punch. They went to Jim and his partner first to say hi, and it turns out the two of them needed some punch as well. They all went to the refreshment table, but stopped when they neared it, for there was Shelley on the refreshment committee. Shelley, in the general sense, looked so beautiful in her dress that the gang dropped their mouths open. Shelley was wearing a sparkly skinny red dress with a slit in the skirt and a bow tied at the back. Instead of her beret she wore a sparkly headband that could almost be mistaken for a tiara. She even wore party shoes instead of sneakers.

"Hi guys." Shelley grinned, winking at Emmitt.

Shareena suddenly snapped out of and felt hot with anger. She quickly jabbed Emmitt with her elbow, which woke him up. The rest of the girls recovered too and woke up their respective partners.

"Hi, we never saw you out of your usual everyday attire before." Orangejella noted.

"I thought I'd dress special for the dance tonight." Shelley smiled flirtingly at Emmitt.

"_You mean for Emmitt._" Shareena thought, suddenly wanting to punch Shelley; that was when she realized what she was feeling. "_Wait, why would I be jealous, Emmitt's not my boyfriend._"

Shareena couldn't ponder it for long though, for she noticed Emmitt growing nervous. Luckily, the other guys had already recovered and had gotten their refreshments, so Shareena didn't need to worry about them. She quickly got a couple glasses of punch, a few goodies, and quickly grabbed Emmitt.

"Sorry Shelley but we want to quickly finish our snack so that we can dance." Shareena said hurriedly as she dragged Emmitt to the rest of the gang.

Shelley frowned, both angry and disappointed.

"Thanks Shareena." Emmitt gasped as he sat down near the rest of the gang.

"She almost got you huh?" Gug frowned knowingly.

"Scary enough, yes." Emmitt paled slightly. "I've go to keep remembering that it's **Shelley** under that dress."

"I wonder if she used some sort of hypnotic cloth to make that dress." Jim wondered.

"Or even voodoo." Shareena scowled.

"Voodoo?" Lemonjella shook her head. "Nah, not her thing."

"Are you okay Shareena?" Jim's partner asked.

"Yeah, I'm just angry that she had to pull that stunt after my trying to keep her and Emmitt separated." Shareena said before angrily taking a bite out of a muffin.

Emmitt, having calmed down thanks to some chips and the punch, got up.

"Don't worry, as long as I stick with you during the dance she won't be able to get me." Emmitt smiled as he put his hand on Shareena's shoulder. "After we're done eating how about a dance?"

"Okay." Shareena smiled after she swallowed her muffin.

They soon finished the food and punch, and moved onto the dance floor. Miss Kisskillya was now inside, so the rest of the gang had to dance as well. The upbeat ones were okay with everyone, so the dance was actually fun at first. Then Shelley approached Shareena and Emmitt.

"Mind if I cut in?" Shelley asked politely.

"Sorry Shelley, I promised Shareena all the dances." Emmitt shook his head.

Shelley's face fell as Shareena smiled. They both knew that Shelley's dress had completely lost it's effect on Emmitt.

Shelley gave up at this point, so the rest of the dance went without a hitch. The gang ended up having so much fun that they didn't sit down to rest until before the last two upbeat dances. Then the last dance, the slow dance, began. This was the one most of the school was dreading.

"Well, might as well get it over with." Emmitt shrugged as he sat up and offered Shareena his hand.

"Might as well." Shareena agreed, taking his hand.

Most of the school tolerated the dance, but once Shareena and Emmitt got used to it they ended up liking it. Since they were dancing with their best friend it wasn't so bad, and soon something had begun.

"_Wow, Shareena really looks beautiful, she even puts Shelley's dress to shame._" Emmitt thought. "_Of course the fact that this dress has a good person while Shelley's dress has an annoying person helps._"

"_Gee, Emmitt actually looks handsome._" Shareena thought. "_At least he hasn't stepped on my feet yet, nor have I stepped on his._"

Shareena then got the urge to kiss Emmitt.

"_Wait, why would I want to kiss Emmit? He's my best friend!_" Shareena yelled inside her head, trying to snap herself out of it. "_So what if he's clever, and kind, and understanding, and hands-oh god, am I...?_"

Shareena looked into his eyes, and felt her heart pounding.

"_I've gotten a crush on Emmitt!_" Shareena panicked inside her head. "_Oh no, oh this is bad, this wasn't supposed to happen! This was just supposed to get Shelley off Emmitt back until graduation! Aw man, as if Emmitt didn't have enough to worry about with Shelley's crush on him! What am I going to do?_"

"_Gosh, Shareena's a good dancer._" Emmitt thought. "_And a good friend, she didn't even have to worry about that F and yet she went to this dance just to keep me safe from Shelley. Boy, her kindness really compliments her beauty, it's almost bewitching even..._"

Bewitching, something about that word stirred his memory:

_Shareena is growing into a beautiful young lady and soon will be bevitching all the boys and stealing their hearts._

"_Wait...oh no that's what Vic was trying to tell me! I've gotten a crush on Shareena!_" Emmitt panicked inside his head, until he looked into her eyes. "_But then she's so nice, and generous, and beautiful, and..._"

Emmitt, his heart pounding, almost succumbed to his feelings and was about to kiss her, when he remembered what Vic said next:

_Try to stay in control._

"_Oh, right, can't let her beauty control my actions. I almost made that same mistake with Shelley and her new dress. Right, memo to me: don't tell Shareena my feelings or act upon them until I'm sure that it's real love and not a crush._"

"_Okay Shareena,_" Shareena thought to herself. "_Don't act upon your feelings until it's real love and not a crush, try to stay focused. Don't succumb to the crush, stay in control._"

Luckily, what they were feeling on the inside was hardly noticeable on the outside. The closest Shareena and Emmitt got to revealing their feelings was smiling. Shelley saw this and felt her heart break (it was really her imagination), and the rest of the gang saw this and looked stunned, but the rest of the school didn't even notice.

After the dance, the gang gathered outside to talk.

"You two actually seemed to like the slow dance." Jim said to Shareena and Emmitt.

"Well, it wasn't tortuous anyway." Shareena shrugged.

"But you were smiling." Lemonjella and Orangejella said.

"Huh? Oh, that was a reaction to when we both knew that Shelley's new dress lost it's power over me." Emmitt fibbed.

"Yeah." Shareena agreed. "Emmitt finally snapped out of it while we were dancing, and he told me just as the slow dance began."

"_Oh._" Duncan said.

Shelley then approached them, looking miserable.

"I guess we're not dating anymore huh?" Shelley said to Emmitt sadly.

"Shelley we were never a couple and we never will be." Emmitt said gently. "We're just too different."

"Oh." Shelley sighed before turning to leave. "Bye guys."

"Bye." The gang said back randomly, happy that Shelley had left them earlier than usual.

"Emmitt I'm proud of you." Shareena smiled.

"It's about time you turned her down." Gug agreed.

"Yeah, I was just having a hard time wording it properly." Emmitt shrugged modestly.

"Well you worded it perfectly." Shareena grinned.

The gang then started to leave for home. Emmitt had decided to walk Shareena home, so it wasn't long before it was just the two of them on Shareena's street. They stopped in front of her neighbor's house just in case her parents were still up.

"Emmitt, I actually had a great time." Shareena smiled. "I thought I was going to hate the dance but I ended up having fun."

"Me too, not even the slow dance was as bad as I was expecting." Emmitt agreed. "So, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow." Shareena agreed, suddenly hugging him; she had been wanting to kiss him this whole time but was fighting against it, so the hug was a compromise.

Emmitt was at first startled, but then started to grow warmer and soon melted into the hug. They felt happy and at peace, except their hearts were still pounding. They managed to break away, and awkwardly said goodnight.

When Shareena got upstairs she quickly changed into her PJs and lay on her bed, pondering her feelings for Emmitt. Pig soon noticed, and nudged her arm concernedly.

"What am I goin to do Pig, I've gotten a crush on Emmitt." Shareena sighed. "But why, he already had to tolerate Shelley's crush, why give him further torture? And this is worse, because I'm his best friend. Considering how hard it was to turn Shelley down I don't want to imagine how hard it would be for him to turn me down."

Pig went over to Shareena's art supplies and started drawing something on a piece of paper (he was using his mouth to hold the supplies and his hooves to hold the paper).

"What are you drawing?" Shareena asked as she walked over to Pig.

When Pig was done, he showed her. It was a heart with E and S in the middle and an arrow going though it. Shareena, getting what Pig was saying, looked at him with shock.

"Pig, you don't understand, for humans a crush is a bad thing." Shareena said gently but firmly. "Crushes don't have real love in them they're just based on shallow reasons."

Pig drew a Y shape on the paper and another arrow that pointed to the heart and the E.

"Why do I have a crush on Emmitt?" Shareena guessed; Pig nodded. "Well, he understands me, he's kind, funny, clever, polite...hey wait, those aren't shallow reasons..."

Pig gave her a knowing look.

"But...if I don't like him for shallow reasons then..."

Shareena's heart suddenly stopped pounding, skipped a couple beats, and started beating faster. She started to feel lighter, and warmer, and formed a lovestruck smile on her face.

"I'm in love with Emmitt." Shareena realized. "It's real love."

Pig nodded happily. Shareena hugged him.

"Thank you Pig." She said.

Shareena then went to bed and started dreaming of she and Emmitt going to Transylvania as a couple.

Meanwhile...

Emmitt was still panicking about his crush on Shareena, but unfortunately he didn't have anyone to talk to about it. His parents were asleep, but even if they were awake they weren't an option. Emmitt felt that he was too young to get a crush on someone so he wasn't ready to tell his parents. He didn't have any siblings or pets to talk to, so all he could do was talk to himself about the matter. That didn't help as he was still panicking and couldn't give himself legitimate advice, so he decided to change the subject in his mind by reading his comics. This worked, until he came across a comic that featured a villain kidnapping the hero's love-interest. It turns out this villain also loved the girl, but for the wrong reasons. Emmitt noted why the villain loved the girl, and why the hero loved the girl, and realized that his feelings for Shareena were similar to the hero's feeling for the girl.

"Wait, if...but then..." Emmitt felt his heart stop for a few seconds before speeding up. "It's not a crush, I'm really in love with Shareena." Emmitt realized.

Now calm and lovestruck, Emmitt got ready for bed and dreamed of going into outer space with Shareena.


	5. Supernatural Feelings

Shareena and Emmitt talked on the phone late the next morning to discuss what they wanted to do. They decided on trying one of the voodoo spells, since they wanted to get back at Shelley for her dress stunt at the dance.

Shareena arrived at Emmitt's place - since she didn't want her parents to know what they were doing - and she and Emmitt looked for a proper voodoo spell. The book was written for kids, so there wasn't anything worse than a cut on the arm, but one spell in particular caught Shareena's eye.

"'Make your victim look like a fashion disaster.'" Shareena read from the book. "Cool, this spell turns your victim's clothing into the opposite of their style."

"Neat, how long does the spell last?" Emmitt asked.

"Only a few days." Shareena replied.

"Still, nice, let's do it." Emmitt smiled.

"All right!" Shareena agreed enthusiastically.

They prepared the spell and conjured it, fortunately they were able to get all the ingredients. Some required a trip to the store, but there was one close enough to Emmitt's house so no trouble. The only setback they got was when they needed some witchy ingredients, but Shareena knew of this Wiccan store only a bus ride away so they were able to finish the spell that same day. They didn't want to purposefully seek out Shelley in order to find out if the spell worked or not, so they decided to just play some of Emmitt's board games for the rest of the day. During one game the die rolled under the bed, and Shareena and Emmitt both went to get them. This resulted in Emmitt placing his hand on Shareena's, causing them to freeze. They then slowly brought their hands out from under the bed without letting go, and awkwardly glanced at each other.

"Oh, er, sorry about that." Emmitt blushed, taking his hand away.

However, this brief touch did something to Shareena: it made her realize that despite Emmitt having dealt with Shelley's crush, her love for him was not something to hide...not any longer.

"It's okay Emmitt, actually it felt nice." She smiled.

"Really?" Emmitt smiled back.

"Yes in fact..." Shareena took Emmit's hand back.

This caused both of their hearts to speed, and Shareena knew it was time.

"In fact, Emmitt, I know you've had to tolerate Shelley's crush on you but there's something I can't keep to myself." Shareena sighed, preparing herself for rejection.

"What is it?" Emmitt asked, a little worried.

"I...I'm in love with you." Shareena admitted.

Emmitt dropped his mouth open, and after a few seconds shut it again and smiled.

"Shareena...I'm in love with you." Emmitt held her hands with both of his hands.

Shareena looked at him with happy surprise. They then gazed into each other's eyes and again they both felt the urge to kiss. They weren't so sure about it though.

"Wait, if I kiss Emmitt and it doesn't feel right then I'm worse than Shelley." Shareena thought. "At least Shelley never misled Emmitt. Well, except for the whole dress thing but I'm sure that was just a reaction to my taking Emmitt to the dance. I don't want to hurt Emmitt yet my heart can't wait any longer."

"Oh no, not again." Emmitt thought. "No, I'm still staying in control Shareena is not going to steal my heart. Winning my love is good enough she doesn't need my heart. No, no kissing until I'm ready, got that heart. No heart, don't succumb to her bewitchery."

They couldn't fight it any longer.

"Fine, you win, just know that you'll be feeling most of the pain if Emmitt gets hurt."

"That's weird, I can't fight it, I'm...leaning in for a kiss. I can't pull back or even stop, what is going on? Wait, this tugging feeling at my chest...oh no, did she already steal my heart without me knowing?"

And, they kissed. It didn't take them long completely succumb to the kiss either. Soon, their arms were wrapped around each other, their chests were touching so that they felt each other's heartbeats, and they completely forgot about the game they were playing earlier.

"Wow, there...was nothing...to worry about...Emmit's the one..." Shareena thought before starting to feel as if she was melting; and metaphorically, she did, she melted right into Emmit's arms.

"Great, Shareena did steal my heart...which she can do anytime she wants...she can have my soul too, it doesn't matter as long as I have her." Emmitt started to lose control; he quickly got it back and opened his eyes. "Whoa, what am I thinking, I need both my heart and my soul...wait a minute." Emmitt had just noticed Shareena had metaphorically melted into his arms. "Gee, Shareena's not only bewitching, she's bewitched. Maybe I don't have to worry about her stealing my heart." Emmitt then felt something in his and Shareena's chests. "Especially since we're apparently sharing one...wait, sharing one? No way, only one heartbeat, where's the other heartbeat? Either one of us did lose a heart or...no way...did our hearts actually combine themselves?"

Since Emmitt didn't have to worry about his heart getting stolen, he decided to just relax and melt into the kiss. That's when he discovered that it was true, his and Shareena's hearts did combine into one, or, literally, beat as one.

It was a few minutes, but eventually Emmitt and Shareena stopped kissing. No words were needed, for they both knew the truth and could see it in each other's eyes. They just hugged, until they recovered from the melting sensation they had both experienced. That was then they remembered the game, so Emmitt found the die and they continued playing. The rest of the day went on as normal, except this time they were smiling, lovestruck, at each other. When it was time for Shareena to go Shareena and Emmitt obviously didn't want that to happen, but they accepted it. Before they went downstairs, they decided to have a talk.

"Shareena, I've been thinking that maybe we shouldn't tell the rest of the gang yet." Emmitt said. "I don't think they'll take it well now."

"I was thinking the same thing." Shareena agreed. "How about we wait until high school?"

"Sounds good." Emmitt nodded.

They then went downstairs.

"This was the best day of my life, thank you." Shareena smiled as she stood in the doorway.

"Same to you." Emmitt smiled back.

Not being able to help it, they kissed again, forgetting that Emmitt's parents were there. When they stopped Shareena smiled sweetly at him, said good-bye, and left. Emmitt grinned, completely in love, until he turned and saw his parents there looking shocked.

"Uh-oh..." Emmitt paled.

"No son, it's fine, Shareena is a smart and kind young lady." Mr. Roswell said. "Only, don't you think you're moving a little too fast?"

"We couldn't help it dad, our hearts took over." Emmitt admitted. "Plus...I think she's the one."

Both of his parents looked stunned.

"Are you sure?" Mrs. Roswell asked.

"Well, my heart is but my brain isn't, so I guess the answer is no." Emmitt looked sad.

To his surprise, both his parents smiled.

"Actually son, the answer is yes." Mr. Roswell smiled. "When it comes to love the heart knows all."

"Then why do some people get these stupid crushes on each other?" Emmitt said, confused.

"Because sometimes hormones can fool the brain." Mrs. Roswell explained. "They can never fool the heart though, which is why people eventually grow out of their crushes."

Emmitt smiled, relieved. He then told his parents about how he and Shareena became a couple and how they were going to keep it a secret until high school. His parents approved, so Emmitt had no more worries.

In Shareena's bedroom...

Of course Shareena wasn't going to tell her parents about her and Emmitt, so quickly switched to one of her usual expressions before going inside her house. She switched back to her lovestruck smile when she reached her attic, and then she shut the extra door so that her parents couldn't walk in on her unexpectedly.

"Pig, you were right, Emmitt and I are meant to be." Shareena smiled, lying down on her bed. "I never felt so happy before, no wonder some girls get giddy about romance. Still, I'm not going to be like them. Emmitt loves me for who I am so I'm not changing a thing. *Sigh*, I now understand that expression about dying and going to heaven, that's how I feel."

Pig happily jumped up next to Shareena and lay down next to her.

"We're keeping this a secret from the others until high school begins though so no squealing." Shareena winked, pretending to be stern with Pig. "And especially never squeal to my parents, that's a direct order."

Pig then squealed/laughed. Shareena laughed too.

"Yes, you can squeal to me." She chuckled.


	6. Graduation

A.N. Sorry this one is so short but there wasn't much to write. After all, everyone knows that Graduation is mostly Pomp and Circumstance. Pun intended.

Graduation took place in the auditorium, and everyone except for Shelley was happy. Finally they could all get away from Miss Kisskillya. It turns out Shelley was unhappy for another reason: the voodoo spell worked! Shareena and Emmitt found out when they overheard Shelley telling Miss Kisskillya that she wasn't going to attend the post-graduation party due to something weird happening to her clothes. Shelley and Emmitt at first sneakily grinned to each other, and then once they got the opportunity they told the rest of the gang. The rest of the gang was shocked that this voodoo spell turned out to be real, but once they recovered they laughed,

The party was a blast too, not only because Shelley wasn't there but also because this one wasn't at the school. The party was a cookout at the park, and everyone was having fun. Even the students whose parents were chaperones were having fun, especially since there was so much happening at once that the parents had to concentrate on other kids. Shareena and Emmitt hung out with the gang until the games started. The gang separated to different games, so Shareena and Emmitt took the opportunity to sneak into The Woods. Once there Emmitt gently took Shareena's hand and led her deeper into the woods.

"Emmitt, where are we going?" Shareena asked.

"To my favorite spot." Emmitt smiled.

Not long after that, they arrived at a clearing where there was very little tree cover. Above them were stars and planets shining in the night sky.

"Wow!" Shareena gasped, gazing at the stars.

"The other kids don't even know about this place since they rarely even get close to the edge of The Woods." Emmitt smiled, also gazing at the stars. "This was my secret place...and now it's ours."

Shareena and Emmitt gazed at the stars a while longer, but they couldn't stay long for fear that someone would notice their absence. After about twenty minutes they decided to head back. It was good timing, for Shareena's parents - two of the chaperones - had just started to look for her. Shareena and Emmitt spent the rest of the party cheering on the rest of the gang during the games.

As for the rest of summer, life went on as normal, at least for everybody except for Emmitt and Shareena. Oh sure, they hung out with the gang same as usual, and they did the usual things like going to movies or the beach, but now and then Shareena would go over to Emmitt's house alone or Emmitt and Shareena would spend half a night in their secret spot in The Woods.


	7. High School

A.N. I know the title is lame but I don't want to spoil what's going to happen in this chapter. Of course almost everyone knows that the first day of high school is always the hardest, but I doubt that most of you have experienced what's going to happen here...

The gang had decided to go in separately to get their schedules, and then meet in the cafeteria. It turns out they randomly shared some classes, but not all, so it was okay. Shareena and Emmitt were secretly very happy, for they shared four out of six classes. One of these classes was Home Economics, which they took because Shareena enjoyed making Goth items for herself, and Emmitt wanted to make a sci-fi themed bag. Unfortunately, the teacher was like Shareena's mom, as they found out that very same day.

The class's first task was to make a decorative couch blanket with a large piece of material for the base and scraps for the decoration. Unfortunately, the teacher, Miss Boolite, color stereotyped the class by making the girls use pink and the boys use blue for the base. The boys were lucky, since blue was tolerable, but Shareena refused to make a blanket with any pink in it. Not only that, but something about the base she was given caused her to feel weird, but she dismissed it as being the color. Since she refused to make the blanket, this of course led to an argument with Miss Boolite. Shareena tried to tell Miss Boolite that she hated pink and preferred black, blue, and purple with maybe some red, but she wouldn't listen. Miss Boolite couldn't understand why a girl would hate pink as, as she believed that pink was the perfect color for girls, and thought that black was for funerals and formal parties only. The argument got so heated that Miss Boolite turned to an ultimatum:

"Either you make the blanket using pink or you will get kicked out of class with an F!" Miss Boolite snapped, forcing the base into Shareena's arms.

That's when things became horribly wrong, for Shareena immediately realized that weird feeling she got earlier was not from the color, but the material itself! Her eyes widen, her pupils contracted, and she felt a hot itching sensation on her skin where the material was touching. Even worse, she couldn't remove the material due to somehow feeling stiff. No one noticed her, except for Emmit since he had been looking at her with sympathy during the argument, but he dismissed her expression as fury. The last thing Shareena recalled was suddenly becoming short of breath. After that, she lost sense of what was happening, and collapsed onto the ground. That was when Emmitt realized that something was wrong.

"Shareena!" Emmitt gasped, getting out of his seat and rushing to her.

Miss Boolite frowned as she was about to scold Emmitt for leaving his seat without permission, until she noticed Shareena crumpled onto the floor.

"Goodness!" Miss Boolite gasped, concerned, as she went over to Shareena too.

Emmitt quickly thrust the base off Shareena, and found rashes where her skin had touched the material.

"I have to get her to the nurse!" Emmitt panicked, picking her up, and quickly grabbing the hall pass; he then started running to the nurse's office.

Jim, who was in the class so that he could make a superhero costume for himself, asked Miss Boolite if he could follow Emmitt.

"Of course, I'll come too." Miss Boolite nodded. "Class, continue working, I'll be right back."

Emmitt reached the nurse in almost no time, and pounded on the door. The nurse soon open the door, and looked shocked at Shareena's condition.

"Nurse...please...help her." Emmitt gasped, catching his breath.

"Of course, quickly, in here." The nurse nodded, directing Emmitt to the back room.

Emmitt gently lay Shareena down on one of the beds there, kneeled next to her worried.

"Young man, if you could please wait outside I'll attend to her right away." The nurse said gently.

"What's wrong with her?" Emmitt asked, reluctantly getting up.

"It appears to be an allergic reaction, I'll have to give her a shot." The nurse explained as she gently led Emmitt out the door. "Tell me, what did she touch before she fainted?"

"It was the material we were using in Home Economics, I think it was wool." Emmitt explained.

"A wool allergy." The nurse realized. "It's rare but treatable."

"Thank goodness." Emmitt sighed, relieved.

The nurse then shut the door and Emmitt went to one of the chairs to wait. Jim and Miss Boolite soon arrived, and Emmitt explained the situation. Miss Boolite was horrified, and apologized for unintentionally hurting Shareena. Emmitt at first wasn't going to forgive her, but changed his mind when he saw how worried Miss Boolite was.

Luckily the shot worked, and Emmitt, Miss Boolite, and Jim were allowed to see her. Miss Boolite apologized to Shareena about thrusting the wool at her, and Shareena forgave her due to wool allergies being rare. Emmitt then told Miss Boolite that gender can't be represented by one color for all people were individuals. Miss Boolite, ashamed, agreed with him and apologized to Shareena for forcing pink on her. Since no teacher had ever apologized to her before, Shareena forgave her instantly. The nurse then came in and told everyone that she had called Shareena's parents and that Shareena needed to rest for the day.

When her parents arrived the nurse told them about Shareena's allergy to wool and that it would be best for her to go home for the rest of the day to finish recovering. Her parents agreed, and Shareena told the nurse the rest of her schedule so that her teachers could be notified. Shareena then said bye to Emmitt and Jim.

The next day, Shareena was back to her old self and Emmitt was so overjoyed that he hugged Shareena right away. The rest of the gang, who all had also been concerned about Shareena, were a little stunned by this display of affection. Shareena and Emmitt then admitted that they had been dating ever since the day after the dance before middle school graduation. The rest of the gang was shocked, but grateful that Shareena and Emmitt had decided to wait until high school before telling them. The gang, even Gug, then accepted Shareena and Emmitt's relationship (Gug still winced with disgust when Shareena and Emmit kissed though).

As for Miss Boolite she told the class that they could now use whatever colors they wanted for their blankets, and that their uncompleted blankets would count as extra credit. She then handed Shareena materials made out of cotton instead of wool. Miss Boolite still preferred pink, and Shareena still hated pink, but they never argued about color again.

The rest of high school went by uneventful compared to the wool allergy incident. There were good teachers and bad teachers, good classes and bad classes, you know the same as any high school. Each member of the gang ended up with a favorite teacher and a least favorite teacher. As for Shelley, she was crushed when she learned that Emmitt and Shareena were now a couple, but as the years passed she got over it and even found someone else.

The years passed, and then came graduation. The gang had never been more excited. True, they were really happy and excited when they graduated from middle school due to leaving Miss Kisskillya behind, but not as excited due to continuing school in general. This time it was different, since college is optional.

P.S. Shareena and Emmitt did end up going to the prom together, and Shareena did wear the black dress she liked years ago. As for the rest of the gang, well, Lemonjella and Orangejella went with a couple smart guys from their chemistry class. Jim was still going out with that one girl, Lana, from middle school - it turns out she loves superheroes too, especially Wonder Woman, and had a secret crush on Jim the whole time. Gug only went to be with his friends and to dance since couples were optional this time. Duncan met a nice girl named Deanna who had a deaf aunt. She started to teach him sign language, and they ended up going to the prom together.


	8. The Gang's Future

A.N. I know, another lame title...well, maybe at least unimaginative. What happens here is pretty straightforward, some of it even obvious, so I couldn't think of anything else.

Lemonjella and Orangejella obviously went to college, the top one in the state, and continued their education to become scientists. They had a little difficulty in deciding what field of science, but eventually decided on becoming inventors as inventing covers all fields. Despite the fame they achieved, they rarely left the state due to wanting to remain close with their friends. Instead of marrying the guys they went to the prom with, they fell in love with a couple sweet and smart guys from their college and married them.

Jim Kim went to acting college, minoring in behind the scenes work like script writing and scenery making. After graduating from that college he went on to working for a film company that specialized in superhero films, and spent his time helping the company make new superhero movies and TV shows. Eventually his acting ability was discovered by the owner when the owner walked in on Jim's performance of the storyboards for the new animated Green Lantern series. Jim was then hired for voice work. Luckily, due to being very active during high school and college, Jim was now more durable, flexible, and stronger and later moved up to acting in non-animated movies and series. He eventually became a huge star, but he never forgot the old gang and visited them as much as he could. He eventually married Lana.

Gug literally outgrew his inferiority complex and became nicer, but some things about him didn't change. For one thing, he never went to college, deciding to become an athlete instead. He tried various active sports, before deciding on soccer. He did try football and almost picked that, but a trip to the hospital from a broken leg changed his mind. Even though he loves being active and tough, he doesn't like going through pain. He became a great soccer player, and his team won many games, including a few major league games. The best moment for Gug though, was when his team won the second championship they played for. The rest of the gang would sometimes go see his games, but when they didn't have time or when the game was too far away they watched it on television instead. Either way, none of them ever missed a game that featured Gug's team. Gug didn't change his mind about dating during high school, but he did when he got on the soccer team. There was this one girl on his team named Sage that liked him and he ended up liking her back. This soon changed to love and after a few years they got married.

Duncan and Deanna went to a college that taught the deaf and mute sign language so that he could learn more advanced sign languages. Because of this, Duncan decided on a career of teaching other people sign language. He taught the deaf, mute, and anyone with deaf or mute family members or friends. The amount of people who knew sign language increased over the years thanks to him, and among these people were the old gang. Despite being busy with their own careers, they wanted to have more complicated conversations with Duncan, ones that didn't require the short responses that his yoyo provided. Despite learning sign language he still kept his yoyo for nostalgic reasons, and sometimes even used it now and then. He and Deanna eventually married.

As for Shareena and Emmitt, well, obviously they eventually got married, but before we get into that there's their careers to mention. They didn't really go to college, though Emmitt did take astronomy for a year. As for Shareena she started out in acting school but ended up graduating earlier than she expected. A director had been searching through various acting schools and guilds for the right woman to play a background evil witch role in his upcoming picture. When Shareena heard that the director was coming to her school next, she immediately got into character and pretended to take an interest in roasting him for supper. He loved it - heck, he even fell for it for a few minutes - and hired her right on the spot. After that Shareena continued her career as an actress, specializing in horror and dramatic films. Since she preferred horror and drama, she worked for all companies instead of sticking to one company like Jim did. Like Jim she also became famous, especially among the Goths, mostly for her roles as witches in various films. Emmitt decided to work for a nearby company that specialized in searching for alien life, as if this is a surprise. Even though all they found were microscopic creatures in Mars's polar ice caps and small aquatic creatures under the icy surface of Jupiter's moon Europa they never gave up. They knew that once technology improved drastically they would be able to search other solar systems and even galaxies.

A few months after they both started their careers, Emmitt decided to ask Shareena to marry him. He took her to their secret spot in The Woods and proposed, and Shareena accepted immediately. The wedding was perfect, at least for them, though their was a small delay when Shareena tried to stop her mom from making a wedding dress - pink, obviously. Luckily, Shareena was able to find the perfect wedding dress before her mom could finish the pink nightmare (as Shareena called it). The Gothic Central didn't specialize in wedding dresses, but luckily her old friend Vic altered a pretty lavender dress into a gorgeous wedding dress. Since Shareena bought the lavender dress before her mom finished the pink one, her mom had to quit since she didn't want Shareena's money to go to waste. Emmitt again got his tux from The Gothic Central. Vic was invited to the wedding on the condition that he leave his fangs behind so as not to scare some of the other guests; he obliged. After the wedding Shareena had to finish her role in the movie, but since it was only a few scenes she and Emmitt were soon off on their honeymoon to Transylvania. After a month they then arrived back to America in time to see the movie.

After the wedding Shareena and Emmitt moved to a different town to prevent their future children from dealing with Miss Kisskillya (who was unfortunately a long way from retiring). They did have children, a girl named Lilura and later a boy named Kirk. Not wanting to force their views on them like Shareena's parents tried to do to her, Shareena and Emmitt let their children be themselves. Lilura ended up liking pink and such, but agreed not to get everything in pink for the sake of her mother's sanity. Lilura only got a few toys and princess dresses for Halloween in pink. Kirk was more into the supernatural like his parents, but despite their differences Kirk and Lilura got along relatively well (pun intended). The family also kept in touch with Vic despite living in a different town, and in fact did a lot of their clothes shopping at The Gothic Central (even Lilura, she got some lavender and red clothing items from that store). And so it continued for the rest of their lives.


End file.
